


Phil's Future

by BabyLinda4



Category: Phil of the Future
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Canon Compliant, Except the Diffy's don't leave after Phil and Keelys first kiss, F/M, Friends to Lovers, Pheely, Post-Canon, Teen Romance, Time Travel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-20
Updated: 2020-03-20
Packaged: 2021-02-28 18:14:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,494
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23221537
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BabyLinda4/pseuds/BabyLinda4
Summary: Did I think I would be staying up until 4am 15 years after the original airdate to write a fanfic about one of my favorite ships? No. Yet, here I am, unable to get these two out of my head all week. I need closure! I blame Disney+
Relationships: Phil Diffy/Keely Teslow
Comments: 3
Kudos: 14





	Phil's Future

**Author's Note:**

> Did I think I would be staying up until 4am 15 years after the original airdate to write a fanfic about one of my favorite ships? No. Yet, here I am, unable to get these two out of my head all week. I need closure! I blame Disney+

Lloyd finally fixes the time machine a few months before Phil's Graduation, for real this time. Well, technically, Pim did. The Diffy’s are packed up, strapped in and ready to leave. They all notice Phil’s sad demeanor, but opt to not acknowledge it. There’s nothing they could say to make it better. 

In the time machine, Phil silently broods over finally expressing how he feels about Keely and immediately having to leave her. He's also bummed about missing graduation...but mainly Keely.

Flying through time, as if some cosmic ding went off, each of the Diffy’s are suddenly reminded of the loud, hairy man living in their garage back in 2004. Lloyd considers just continuing on the trip home, but everyone knows it wouldn’t be right to leave Curtis there alone. Lloyd reluctantly puts the time machine in reverse.

Keely is sitting on the Diffy’s front porch when the time machine bursts back onto the street. She happily abandons staring sadly at her shoes to jump to her feet. Phil is the first to get out of the time machine. His mind chants, “Keely, Keely, Keely,” but as soon as he sees her standing on his porch, he freezes. 

Keely hesitantly speaks first. “Phil?”

That breaks Phil’s stupor. He basically runs into Keely’s arms, eager to just be near her again.

Keely easily accepts the embrace. “Phil, what are you doing back so soon?! Are you okay?!’

“Yeah, we, uh...” Phil’s gaze drifts to the side of the house where Curtis is walking towards them.

“Hey, you guys go to store? Curtis need more bread to make dinner.” Curtis proudly holds up a freshly dead squirrel.

Lloyd and Barbara look at Curtis, then to Phil and Keely, then to each other. That look must’ve meant something because then Lloyd is saying, “No, Curtis, but you get started on dinner and I’ll go get some more bread from the store.”

Curtis turns to walk back the way he came, satisfied.

Phil, clearly confused, “but Dad aren’t we leaving?”

“Well, son, your mom and I decided it wasn’t fair of us to make you leave so close to graduation. So, we decided it would be best to stay here until then. What's a few more months right?”

**\---------**

Phil thought a few more months with Keely was great...at first. He is quickly realizing that there is a downside. There's a time limit. Which means everything he does with Keely leading up to that could be their last time. They both know it, too. You can tell in the silences between conversations, how they both get far off stares while subconsciously moving just a _little_ bit closer to each other. Graduation now looms over them like the steadily increasing drum beat in the background of a horror movie. 

**\---------**

Graduation comes and goes. Phil and Keely say tearful goodbyes. The Diffy's (and Curtis) leave. 

Once home in the future, Pim unpacks happily while Barb and Lloyd revisit their home. The soft blue lighting and clean white walls in the main room weren’t as familiar or comforting as the rest of his family seemed to think. Phil sat mournfully.

Phil's mood continues for a week. Then another. Lloyd calls it after two weeks.”That's enough. Why don’t you go out and do something fun. Maybe play some laser squash with your old buddies?” 

Phil submits. "Fine, I guess I can go to the mall with Kee- oh" Phil looks at the ground, at a loss. How can you be so distraught about something for weeks, then just have it slip your mind like that? Phil wonders.

Lloyd makes a pitying face. “Well, maybe tomorrow...,” then walks away.

**\---------**

Keely, back in Pickford, is watching her old reports in her room. Most of them have little clips of Phil jumping in and out of the frame to fix her hair or set up the frame properly. Almost all of them end with Keely looking slightly off camera, smiling. She pauses the video on herself mid-laugh. She doesn't remember why she was laughing, but she is sure it was Phil's doing.

She slumps in her chair, swivels slightly to look at a camera set up on a tripod in the corner of her room. Except, she's actually staring at the spot just to the right of the camera, picturing Phil smiling back at her. She considers practicing another report, but the only report she wants to give right now is "Phil Diffy: Back from the Future."

**\---------**

The next day, Phil's mood hasn't improved. Barb and Lloyd walk in looking concerned, yet hopeful. Barbara sits on a chair across from Phil while Lloyd gently rests against the arm of the chair. Barb starts, "Honey, your father and I hate seeing you like this." 

"Well, Mom, I don't know what to do. I'm so frustrated.” Phil states while he pulls at his hair. “We waited so long to come back home, and now that we're back everything just feels wrong. I’ve been trying to adjust, but every idea I have is completely pointless here. And all I can think about is how I would normally laugh about weird time difference things with Keely, but I can't." Phil lets the last part out in a defeated exhale.

"Well, sure you can! Just use the replicator!"

"No, Dad, it's not the same."

Barb and Lloyd share a look. Lloyd sighs, "Son, your Mom and I see that you are struggling."

"Honey, to us,” gesturing at Lloyd and herself, “our trip to the past was just a vacation, granted a bit longer than we had planned-"

"I said I was sorry!" 

Barb places a calming hand on Lloyd's knee. "My point, honey, is that we grew up here in the future. We planted roots here."

"Figuratively, of course, since now they've figured out sustainable nutrition without the need for all the messy work of actually planting things."

"Lloyd, will you stay focused."

"Right. Sorry."

"We had you kids here. But, our family vacation may have affected the two of you differently than us. Well...maybe just you. Pim never got too attached to anyone in the past."

"Probably because she's mean."

Barb shoots Phil a disapproving look, and Phil concedes. 

"But you, Phil, you had Keely. She became so near and dear to you that as much as it pains me to say this, I think,” Barb’s voice starts to quiver along with her watery eyes, “I think she became your new home."

Phil quickly tries to comfort his mother. "No c’mon, Mom, you guys are my home." 

"No, Phil, your mother is right. And we don't think that means you love us any less. We've just never seen you happier than when you're with Keely.”

“And we want that for you. Happiness." Barb adds slightly less shaky with Lloyd’s arm slung around her.

Phil is speechless. Conflict displayed all over his face.

Barb, barely holding back tears, says "so, we have decided it would be best if you went...back to Keely."

Phil jolts upright. His head snaps to look at his father, then back at his mother. He rapidly scans each of his parents as if the answer is on one of their faces, if only he can find it. "I don't know what to say." 

Barb is really tearing up now. She quickly wipes away a stray tear. "You are a good boy, Phil, and you deserve to be happy. You deserve to feel at home. Even if that means not being with us."

"But Mom I can't leave you guys!"

"Son, we’re never too far away. And with this," Lloyd leans forward to hand Phil a small transparent blue card, "you can visit us whenever you want."

Phil’s excited "Dad, you didn't" gets cut off by Pim hurriedly popping her head into the room. She joyfully says, "Did I just hear Phil is leaving?!" 

"Pim, be nice to your brother!"

Pim brushes off her mother’s comment in favor of eying the blue card in Phil's hand. "Is that what I think it is? Are we going on another trip? Did we not learn ANYTHING from the last one?!"

"No, Pim. Your mother and I decided Phil should go back to the past...with Keely."

Pim tries to come up with a quick quip, but comes up short in a struggle to hide her deflation. "Oh. S-so, I guess I won’t have to see your stupid face around here anymore then, huh?"

Phil stands to slowly walk over to his little sister. "No, of course not! My stupid face is gonna be around all the time. I'll come over on weekends and holidays-" 

"And Unification day!" Lloyd adds.

"Yes! And especially on your NIRD day! You're going to be seeing _**all**_ of this!” Phil states as he gestures wildly around himself.

********

Pim attempts to act disgusted, but her gagging softens to a shy smile.

********

Phil, now standing in front of Pim, says, "In fact, I think I should get started on that right now." He wraps his arms around his little sister in a warm hug. She doesn't even fight it.

********

Pim pulls out of the hug a long moment later, “Okay, okay, enough with all the mushy stuff. I’ll be in my room.” She raises her fingers to her forehead in a small salute to her family, backs out of the room and turns down the hallway.

********

Phil’s attention returns to the small blue card in his hand. “Dad, I can’t believe you did this.”

********

"And don't worry, I didn't get this one at Marty’s Used Time Machine and Waterslide this time. Figured it'd be a good graduation present, eh?"

********

“Yeah! It’s amazing! I ca-” Phil’s face descends into a frown when he remembers something. “Wait. What about the Thanks To The Diffy’s Law? I thought time traveling was banned?”

********

“Well...more restricted. When I said you can visit us whenever you want, I meant more like twice a year. I looked into the new law before I bought your time machine.”

********

“There are a few things you need to consider before going back. First,” Barb holds up a finger indicating a list is coming. “There’s a review process. So, even though we’re giving you this gift now, it will be a while before you can actually travel.”

********

“A review process? Review for what?”

********

“A new committee has been put together to research the impact a time traveler might have on the future.” Lloyd replied.

********

“I guess we had too many close calls for them to want to take any more chances. Y’know like you, Pim and I almost not existing.”

********

“Right. Okay. What else is there?”

********

“Well, like I said, you can only time travel twice a year, and only between your destination and your origin time.”

********

_Well, there goes weekend trips_ , Phil thinks to himself. “When I come back to visit you guys, can Keely come too?”

********

“That might have to be something you add in the review process. The salesrobot didn’t include all the details in the sales agreement.”

********

Phil takes a moment to consider this. He basically spent the last few weeks listing all the good things about Keely, like her loyalty, kindness, and trustworthiness. Devising a bit of a speech to get the committee to agree to let her come should be a piece of cake. That settled, he motions for his parents to continue. “Alright. Then...”

********

“This next one is a big blow to me and the guys at Wizard Corp. No future tech.”

********

“What?! Like none at all?! What about the Wizard at least?”

********

“Especially the Wizard. Remember, they want to minimize potential future impact.”

********

The boy’s eyebrows scrunch together, looking distressed. He moves to sit on a nearby chair.

********

“Oh honey, I know this is tough.” Barb stands from her seat to sit on the arm on Phil’s chair while wrapping an arm around his shoulders. “But there is one kind of future tech you _can_ bring.”

********

“What’s that?”

********

Barb reaches in her pocket to pull out a small clear plastic card similar to the time machine key. “This.”

********

“What is this?” Phil questions while curiously turning it over in his hands.

********

Lloyd elaborates. “It’s new! It’s a touch activated communicator that is personalized to only work for the owner.”

********

“The idea is to use it for emergencies like ours, but it isn’t regulated the way travel is, so you can call us whenever you want. Three, four, six times a day if you’d like!”

********

Phil smiles, “okay, Mom, let’s not get crazy!”

********

Barb playfully taps Phil’s arm. “A mother can dream.”

********

Phil’s attention shifts back to the communicator, experimentally pressing his fingers to it randomly.

********

Barb smiles adoringly. Lloyd lets out a small laugh. “It gets activated once you pass the review process.” 

********

Phil halts, slightly embarrassed. “Oh.” 

********

“This is a big decision, Phil. Do you want to take a couple of days to think about it?”

********

Barb nods in agreement as she strokes Phil’s arm. Now that all the details have been discussed her tears have started to return. 

********

Phil considers taking them up on that offer, but then immediately wonders why he would. Sure, he loves all his future tech, but. But, he gets the feeling that he doesn’t love anything as much as he loves Keely. It’s weird to think that now, realizing it for the first time, so far away from her. It’s true, though. And if giving up his future gadgets means he gets to be with her again, then he would. “No. I don’t need any time to think about it. I know I want to go back. I _need_ to go back. Gadgets or not.”

********

Barb shutters almost imperceptibly at hearing the resolution in her son’s voice. 

********

“Are you sure, son? Because something like this doesn’t just mean not being with us, or having future tech. It’s about completely giving up any kind of future you would’ve had here. Your path in life will be completely different from anything you’ve known.” Lloyd moves closer to his son. “I’m not trying to talk you out of anything. I mean, I already bought the time machine, so I already had a pretty good idea of how you would respond. I just want to make sure that you are thinking this all the way through.”

********

“But that’s just it, Dad. It doesn’t feel like I’m giving anything up. I mean, other than you guys.” He adds, noticing the way his mother tensed up suddenly. “I didn’t really have anything going on before we went on our vacation. I didn’t have a plan for my future here. I don’t know why, but nothing ever felt right for me here. Then, when we got stuck in the past something switched. I started making plans. Not big ones at first. Things like getting through school, weekend plans, trying out for a sport. Things that didn’t make sense for me to be doing if I wasn’t planning a life for me there.” Phil sighed. He leaned into his mother just a little bit more as he admitted this next part. “I just know that even before our trip I was lost.”  
“Oh honey, we had no idea you’d been feeling this way.” Barb squeezed her son tighter.  
He didn’t mind. “Lloyd, did you know?”

********

“No. How could I have? When did this even start?”

********

“Like I said, I knew before we left. But I guess around career day at school is when I really realized it. I mean, why would I have been taking it so seriously? Pim was just using it for a quick power trip, but I really got into it. I guess it kind of forced me to confront how I was already feeling.”

********

Another squeeze. “And all we did was laugh at all the silly options.” Suddenly, her hand came up to swat at her husband. “Lloyd, how could we have been so blind to our baby’s needs.”

********

“No, Mom! There’s nothing you could’ve done.”

********

Lloyd comes around the back of the chair to wrap his arms around his wife and son. The three of them held each other for a moment, happy to gain the peace that comes with just being together. Then Phil realizes that there may not be many more of these moments left, so he holds on a little tighter.

********

Finally, Phil takes a deep breath as they break apart. “I know I’m giving up a lot here, but I'm gaining something too. I’ve never known a friend like Keely before. I’m grateful for this opportunity to be with her again. I don’t even know what I would do here next if I stayed.”

********

“Work with me at Wizard Corp.!” Lloyd tries. 

********

“That’s not me, Dad, that’s you. You’re an engineer. I don’t know what I am yet. But being with Keely makes me feel like I’m just _a little bit_ closer to knowing. I’ll figure the rest out as I go.”

********

****

********

**\---------**

********

**  
**  
**   
**

Phil weirdly passes the review with flying colors. The committee was practically shoving him into his time machine before he could even comprehend he passed.

********

****

********

**\---------**

********

**  
**  
**   
**

Keely attempts to console an older, larger Lady X as she weeps for her missing cats. "This is Keely Teslow reporting from..."

********

"...and we’re clear."

********

Keely thanks Lady X and stands facing the camera. Once again, she isn't looking at the camera. Her eyes are fixed slightly to the right, and she smiles. Keely takes a few steps forward and stops right in front of Phil with a smile to match hers. He's not behind the camera this time, though. He is just there, happily supporting his best friend. Keely passes her mic over to a cameraman. "So how was I?"

********

Phil quirks the corner of his mouth into a smirk. "It was your best show yet."  
Keely smiles, rolls her eyes, then leans into Phil for a kiss.

********

Keely pulls back, "Hey! I thought you had a meeting with the environmental engineers on water filtration and distribution today?!"

********

"I did. I showed them my presentation on reworking the same system I had created to remove all the waste from the oceans and they loved it! It went so well we finished way earlier than we had expected!"

********

"That's fantastic! Phil Diffy, you are just the smartest person I know."

********

Phil blushes and shrinks his head into his neck a bit. "Well, I don't know about that, maybe..."

********

Phil draws out the word “maybe” which tells Keely he’s only playing shy.

********

"...I'm the smartest environmental conservation leader you know?"

********

"Nope. I'm sure. You are the smartest, sweetest, most adorable guy I know."

********

"Well, I guess if the world's most famous news reporter says so, then it must be true." 

********

Keely leans into Phil for a hug. When they pull away, Phil just keeps staring at her.

********

Keely touches her face. "What? Do I have something?"

********

"No, you're good."

********

"Then what are you staring at?" The hands on her hips look like she’s annoyed, but the smile playing at her lips says she’s only pretending.

********

"I was just remembering when we were watching this same moment on The Giggle back in high school."

********

"OHHH that's right! Wow. I'm surprised you remember that. It seems like ages ago.”

********

“You’re still wearing your popstar pants, so it wasn’t _that_ long ago."

********

Keely twirls. “I told you they’d still be in style.”

********

“I guess so. Forteen years later and people are still saying ‘like _whoa_ ’ when you walk in a room.” Phil is mostly joking with that exaggerated reaction to Keely’s pants. However, he swears that is his _only_ reaction whenever she walks into a room, regardless of her popstar pants. His face turns soft and serious as his eyes sweep across Keely’s face and down her arm.

********

"The light caught your ring on camera and reminded me."

********

Keely follows his eyes down to the two little rings on her left hand.

********

"You noticed it on The Giggle and I remember thinking, 'Wow, what do I have to do to be that lucky? To marry a girl who is smart, sweet, talented-"

********

"don't forget passionate!"

********

"-and ever so modest." Phils smiles fondly, pulling Keely in closer to wrap his arms around her.

********

"Well, I guess all you had to do, Phil Diffy, is be you."

********

"Lucky me."

********

Keely and Phil turn to walk off with their hands connected and interlocked between the two of them. 

********

Keely turns to Phil, "So what were you thinking for dinner tonight?"

********

"Ugh anything but meatloaf. You'd think after the wheelbarrow incident my parents would stop letting Pim make the Unification dinner!"

********

"I don't know, Phil, the spray can meatloaf is really starting to grow on me. Maybe we should make that our family tradition."

********

"I like the sound of that...our family." Phil thinks of a little music box stored safely away in his and Keely’s front closet of their small apartment and smiles softly to himself.

********


End file.
